Today’s my birthday.
Well technically, I’m writing this on Monday. So it’s almost my birthday. But by the time this is published it will actually be my birthday. To be honest, I haven’t really even been thinking about it this year. There’s a lot on my mind, and turning one year older isn’t one of the things I’m thinking about.
But now that it’s my turn to write a column, and the fact that said column gets published on my birthday I guess I should probably consider it.
One way of thinking about birthdays is that they’re kind of a personal new years. March 13 for me is more of a milestone than Dec. 31, and it’s worth looking forward at the year that’s to come. I think this is going to be an interesting one. As I’m pulling in to my thirties proper, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I actually want to do with my life. I’m starting to realize that certain things I figured were important in my twenties are actually a bit less important now. And things that I had neglected during that time are making themselves known again.
For example, when I was a teenager I was really into playing music. I was in a few bands in high school, and seriously considered music as a career. I was on my way to making that a reality, but took a different path. That path led me to journalism, writing and my life as it is now, but over that time I kind of let music take the backseat. I still played occasionally, but now I’m rediscovering it in a more fulsome way. I’m not expecting to take the stage anytime soon, but it gives me joy to plug my guitar in and make a bunch of noise. I need that bit of joy these days, and am happy to have it.
Another example is working on bikes. My love for bicycles really coalesced when I was in my early twenties, but over the past six years I pursued it a bit less than I had before. I worked in a bike shop until I started in newspapers. At the time, my whole life was bikes. Now it’s a bit less that way. However, I’m finding myself wrenching on bikes more and might have a bit more than weekend rides in my future. Not going to give away all of the details of my plans, but there’s some exciting things a-coming.
It’s cliche to say, but change is inevitable. Maybe this year I’m going to take more agency and stop letting things happen to me. Instead, maybe I’ll make things happen. I’m usually not interested in these kinds of proclamations of making big changes. The thing is, I have so many irons in the fire right now that something will undoubtedly come from at least one of them, and it could fundamentally change how I see myself. But isn’t that always the way?
Like I said, it’s my birthday today. I’m a whole year older, and really who knows that that will bring. I can aim things a certain direction, but nothing really is for sure. All I know is that today I want to eat some tasty food, hang out with my wife and maybe go for a walk. As for the rest, we’ll see.